Coal ash crackdown

The US Environmental Protection Agency has released a draft report on two coal ash impoundments at American Electric Power's Philip Sporn facility in West Virginia.

The report released last night (November 16) was made public due to an 'abundance of caution and in the spirit of transparency' according to the EPA.

The agency took this step because a report completed as part of the ongoing review of dam integrity of coal ash impoundment sites found factors at the facility that are similar to the Kingston facility when 300 acres were covered in coal ash after a failure in December 2008.

The EPA makes it clear it does not believe the impoundments 'pose an imminent threat to the surrounding communities' based on the draft report's assessment and follow-up technical reviews.

However, it issued an information request letter requiring the company to conduct several studies to assure the safety of these impoundments.

The company is required to provide the results of those studies to the EPA within 90 days, which it has agreed to do.